Keith Girard
This sequence of photos shows Scott Derben spying a cat in the Thames river and reaching down to save her. The scene was captured by a video going viral on the Internet. (Photos: ScreenCap)
The incident was captured on closed circuit television (CCTV) and was posted on Twitter by ITV, the British news agency.
The man was later identified as engineering and operations manager Scott Derben, according to London’s Evening Standard newspaper.
The feline is apparently well-known around the docks. She was identified as “Felix,” the Royal Docks Authority’s office cat.
The camera caught a bird’s eye view (no pun intended, well maybe) of the action.
Royal Dock's cat Felix has had a difficult start to his bank holiday Sunday. Someone buy that man a cup of tea please… pic.twitter.com/R9bL8tuNoe
— ITV News London (@itvlondon) April 30, 2017
I'll stand him 2 pints at the public house of his choosing. #savingfelix https://t.co/iQrTjrXK2Y
— Renee Lascala (@ReneeLascala) April 30, 2017
Royal Dock's cat Felix has had a difficult start to his bank holiday Sunday. Someone buy that man a cup of tea please… pic.twitter.com/R9bL8tuNoe
— ITV News London (@itvlondon) April 30, 2017
All was seemingly quiet on the dock, when suddenly, Felix raced into view. Another feline was in hot pursuit. They rounded the corner of a building heading straight for the water.
The cat caught up with Felix at the water’s edge. After a brief scuffle, Felix went tumbling into the river. It may have ended right there. She struggled to climb out of the water and up the bulwark.
Just then, a gent wearing a red jacket and carrying a purple bag raced into camera view. He put the bag down and sprinted to the edge of the dock where Felix was struggling.
While the other cat skittered away, he climbed over a chain, flopped onto the ground and was just able to grab the cat by the scruff of her neck.
He hauled her up to the dock and let her go. Once on dry land, Felix seemed pretty nonplussed by the whole event. She casually trotted away without looking back.
But her mates at the dock authority were glad to see her again. They noted that she was none the worse for the calamity.
“Felix the RoDMA cat ended up in the drink while bravely engaging in a hostile territorial battle (i.e., running away) from another cat. We can happily report that Felix suffered no injury or trauma,” the statement said.
Dozens of people have taken to social media to express their gratitude for the simple act of kindness.
Sometimes it takes a couple of animals to bring out the humanity in us all.
Check out the video below.
Royal Dock's cat Felix has had a difficult start to his bank holiday Sunday. Someone buy that man a cup of tea please… pic.twitter.com/R9bL8tuNoe
— ITV News London (@itvlondon) April 30, 2017